ONTARIO. 



This species resembles the Phoebe in appearance, but 

 is smaller and has an erect Hawk-like attitude,when seen perched 

 on a dead twig on the outer limb of a tree. It is a late comer, 

 being seldom seen before the middle of May, after which its 

 prolonged melancholy notes may be heard alike in the woods 

 and orchards till the end of August, when the birds move south. 

 To human ears the notes of the male appear to be the out- 

 pourings of settled sorrow, but to his mate the impressions 

 conveyed may be' very different. 



The Wood Pewee is a less hardy bird than the Phcebe. It 

 is not so numerous in Ontario, neither does it penetrate so far 

 north. 



GENUS EMPIDONAX CABANIS. 



180. EMPIDONAX FLAVIVENTRIS BAIRD. 463. 

 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. 



Above olive green, clear continuous and uniform as in acadicus, or even 

 brighter ; below not merely yellowish, as in the foregoing, but emphatically 

 yellow, bright and pure on the belly, shaded on the sides and anteriorly with 

 a paler tint of the color of the back ; eye-rings and wing-markings yellow ; 

 under mandible yellow ; feet black. In respect of color, this species differs 

 materially from all the rest ; none of them, even in their autumnal yellowest., 

 quite match it. Size of Traillii or rather less ; feet proportioned as in 

 acadicus ; bill nearly as in minimus, but rather larger ; first quill usually 

 equal to sixth. 



HAB. Eastern North America to the Plains, and from Southern 

 Labrador south through Eastern Mexico to Panama, breeding from the 

 Northern States northward. 



Nest, in a mossy bank ; composed mostly of moss, with a- few twigs and 

 withered leaves, and lined with black wiry rootlets and dry grass. 



Eggs, 4 ; creamy-white, spotted and blotched with reddish-brown and a 

 few black markings chiefly near the larger end. 



Several of the small Flycatchers resemble each other so 

 closely that it is often difficult for the general observer to 

 identify them correctly. The clear yellow of theunder-parts of 



181 



